Monday, May 14, 2012

In the Club

One of the things I've liked these past eight months working at Disney World is that I haven't stayed in the same role the entire time. I've been able to cross train in different positions, and that has been really interesting.

My most recent addition to my list of job codes has been club concierge.

Now if you've read my trip reports, you'll know my family loves to stay club level at the Disney deluxe resorts. Of course we don't always get to - the cost is prohibitive and we have to wait for a good rate and all that. But the experience is awesome...there's food out all day (usually quite delicious food!), a beautiful lounge you can hang out in, a few extra amenities like bathrobes in your room, a desk in the lounge where cast members can help you make reservations and things so you don't have to wait in line downstairs; just an extra level of service. I'll admit though, mostly we're in it for the food.

So considering how much we've enjoyed staying club levels in the past, I find it almost funny to now be working in the club level at my resort. Don't get me wrong, I do like it. But it's also just a little surreal. Sometimes when I'm cleaning off the glass table tops, I'll look down at my reflection and remember seeing my reflection there when I sat on the sofa as a guest. And the cast members who helped us on that trip are now my co-workers! All very odd.

Working up in the club is very different from working in the lobby. It's much quieter than the lobby to begin with, and often I really miss the action. But then you get a lot more quality time with guests. Since you see them day after day, you really get the chance to know them.

For instance, there was a family with four little girls staying with us lately. Every night they come in for desserts after coming back from the parks. The first night I saw them the girls had been to the Pirate League -- three of them were pirates, and the fourth was a mermaid (so cool, I didn't even know the pirate league did mermaids!). Then the second night they each came in clutching a different cute little baby Disney plush. The third night they didn't have anything along with them, but I was prepared; I had a rose for each one in a different color!

So when you're working on the club level, what you basically do is assist guests, keep the lounge clean and tidy, and get the food for the different offerings of the day set out. We don't cook any of the food, though.

Now if you like to think that Tinkerbell brings up the food that appears in the lounge every day (which of course she does...) you might want to skip a paragraph or so. It's not like I'm revealing any Disney secrets or anything; in fact pretty much everything I'm describing you can see yourself if you go into the Boardwalk Bakery as a guest, since they have an open kitchen.

You see, the Boardwalk Bakery is where our desserts come from, and where we go to pick them up. I LOVE going to get the desserts, it's my favorite part of the day. So instead of looking at the open kitchen behind the counter, you get to actually go into it! This time of year it's an especially beautiful place to be in the evening; the golden setting sun is just bursting in the windows, gleaming off all the giant silver bowls and spoons and whisks, almost blinding you -- it's as if the whole kitchen were covered in pixie dust!

The chefs are all at the big, pristine counters, busily preparing cupcakes with giant tubs of icing next to them or spooning out cookie dough or making some other scrumptious offering for the next day! Then towards the back are tall carts filled with trays and trays of baked goods: fresh croissants, all ready to be cut up for breakfast sandwiches for the next morning, rows and rows of little mickey molds for mickey-shaped banana bread, brownies, rice crispie treats, all the rolls and bread that are used to make the sandwiches.

Then you go back into the refrigerator which is filled with even more trams and carts: those big giant cupcakes they sell in the case, all ready to be put out (I love to see what cupcake they have back there, cause then I'll know what kind they're going to have the next morning!), and the big slices of chocolate and carrot cake that go behind the counter too!

The other day I saw some big slices of peanut butter cake -- the Boardwalk Bakery used to be famous for peanut butter cake, but they haven't carried it recently. I wonder if it's coming back or if that was just a special order??

Speaking of special orders, they also have a tram labelled "wedding cakes" -- there are beautiful white cakes, decorated with swirls or the little silver mickey heads. Once there was a decadent-looking chocolate sheet cake that said "Happy Anniversary!"Then finally you get to the tram where the bakers leave the desserts for club level. Our club level is certainly not perfect; but we do have some pretty stellar desserts!! Mini chocolate bundt cakes, mini rectangular pieces of chocolate cake, brownies, rice crispie treats, tiny key lime tarts, blueberry mousse, almond mousse, seven layer bars, mini cupcakes decorated with a beautiful rainbow of sprinkles, mini cheesecakes in tiny chocolate cups, topped with whipped cream, a little white chocolate decoration, and a raspberry. Sometimes we also have various kinds of mousse set in tiny ice cream cones that are just adorable!

Of course, we don't have *all* these things on one night. There are usually three or four different types of dessert each night, and they rotate throughout the week. Still, it's so fun to see these big bins full of desserts. I take them and put them on a smaller cart, and whisk them up to the club level for our guests to enjoy!

Little pinches of pixie dust like an evening trip to the bakery are what make my day!

A Pinch of Pixie Dust is in no way associated with or endorsed by the Walt Disney Company, its subsidaries, or affiliates. For the official Disney website visit: www.disneyworld.com. Photos and text are copyright 2017, Miss Emma.